Food & drink community rallies around chef Adam Allison & girlfriend look

If you’re interested in the Valley’s food scene, you’re likely familiar with restaurateur and chef Adam Allison.

Maybe you’ve eaten his incredible comfort food at his ’50s-era Handlebar Diner in southeast Mesa or from his Left Coast Burrito Co. food truck. Maybe you recently watched him conquer the competition on TV’s ‘‘Chopped.’’

And you’ve probably seen him on the local news, which has chronicled his never-ending campaigns to help people in need, whether providing meals for hungry school children or delivering food to front-line medical workers battling the pandemic.

In an industry full of big hearts, Allison has one of the biggest.

Now, however, it’s Allison and his longtime girlfriend, Nicole, who need a hand. Nicole was just diagnosed with brain cancer and underwent her first radiation treatment Monday.

Needless to say, the lives they’ve gotten used to over the last decade suddenly have been turned upside down.

Mike Smith, the owner of The Local Chandler and a close friend of the couple, is hosting a fundraiser for Nicole at his downtown Chandler sports bar from 7-10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3. You can get more info here.

If you can’t make it Thursday, another friend of the couple, Kristen Forbes, has set up a GoFundMe page here so Adam can spend as much time as possible with Nicole during this difficult time.